Clothes-marking apparatus.



"No. 812,723. v PATENTED PEB.13, 1906.

J. n. CALDWELL & N.-A. SORENSON.

CLOTHES MARKING APPARATUS.

,APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 27, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTORJ I .D Caldwell $1: By fiorermoa WITNESSES.

ATTORNEK Nb. 812,723. PATENTED FEB. 13, 1906.

' J. D. CALDWELL & N. A. SORENSON.

CLOTHES MARKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2'1, 1904.

[NI EN T 0R5 I2 Caldwell 0 BY jffl. 50/6/260R A TT RNE WITNSSES:

. UNITED-- STATES JOHN D. CALDWELL AND NELS A. SOREN SON, OF 2 TON, ASSIGNORS TO OALDWELL-SORENSON LINNOGRAPH CO, 'OF A CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON. i

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON,

nrn'r orator SEATTLE, WASHING- CLOTHE S-MARKING APPARATUS.

Patented Feb. 13, 1906.

Application filed June 27, 1904- Serial No. 214,267.

and N ELS A. SORENSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of ng and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Clothes-Marking Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accom anying drawings.

Our invention re ates to printing, and more particularly to apparatus for printing identification laundry-marks upon clothes.

The object of the invention 1s to provide a device whereby clothes or other articles may be expeditiously marked by means of inter changeable and characters. I

In carrying out our invention we provide marking mechanism comprising a number of frame-bed 5, whereby t -our invention.

rotatable type-disks which may be adjusted to present individual type characters or combinations thereof into prlnting position above a platen operatively connected to'the disks in such manner that when the platen is depressed it causes the disks to descend and imprint the set type upon the fabric placed across the platen.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective new of apparatus embodying Fig. 2 1s a longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical elevation, partly in section, taken on the line a; as of Fig. 2. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail perspective views. I

In the drawings, 2 represents a chambered head havin at its rear apertured brackets 3, which are s idable onu right osts 4 of the lie hea is caused. to move vertically when motion is imparted to it. Rotatably'mounted upon an arbor 6 interiorly of the head 'are disks 7, having affixed or provided upon their respective peripheries a plurality of type characters, such as numerals or alphabetic letters, and inteal with each sai disks is a toothed wheel 8. egmental gears 9 are rotatably mounted upon an arbor 10 of the head and are respectively provided with teeth which mesh with V those of Wheels 8 and have preferably itch predeterminately-set type ment is provided with an arm 11, having a hook 12 1n proximit to its outer end. The segments are severa 1y connected by s rings 13- to a fixed pin 14 of the head and actmg to their arbor in the direction opposite that indicated by arrow in Fig. 3 and which direcferred to as the right.-

F inger-keys 15 extend radially through the circular keyboard or wall 2 of the head and are arranged in series or groups, one group for each type-disk and of corresponding number to the type characters. These characters may be represented or indexed either upon the keyboard or on the front of the head, as shown in Fig. 1. The ends of the keys which are within the head are made ta pering or with faces 16 inclined from their re. s ective axes and are provided adjacent tliereto with offsets or hooks 17. Retractile springs 18 are positioned upon the various said keys and between a curved partition 2" of the head and shoulders 19 on the keys for the purpose of normally holding the latter in their outer or inoperative positions. Arr-arcshaped member 20 is provided for each segvmental gear and series of keys and are slidlimited extent in both circular directions, but normally ressed toward the right end of their trave by the action of springs 22. Serrations 23 equal in number to the respective keys are formed in the convex edge of-each said are member. They are made of V shape posed that the left inclined side of each serration will be when the respective arc members are in their normal positions located so as to be contacted by the inclined face'16 of any depressed key of its articular group, so as to cause the member eing acted upon to be moved toward the left. The are members are each provided with means forretainin the segment-arms 11 at the extreme left-han end of their-travel and for individually releasing them when the proper member 20 is moved in that direction, as aforesaid, by the displacing action of a depressed key. Such pieces 25, of spring metal, located in recesses 26, which extend from wlthin the housings 21 to some distance outside along said memcause the segments to be drawn and turn on' ably seated in housings 21 and revoluble to a.

tion for convenience will hereinafter be reor with inclined sides, as shown, and dismeans (see Fig. 4) comprise bow-shaped i bers and terminating thereat in hooks 27, having sloping extremities 28. When the members are in their right-hand positions and the bowed portions of pieces are with out the housings, the hooked ends resiliently protrude outside of the recesses; but whenthe pieces 25 are carried into the housings by the movement of the are members the proectmg bowed portions are depressed toaccommodate themselves to the sockets and swing the hooked end below the surfaces.

Loosely pivoted to arbor 10 and adjacent to the front wall of the head is an arm 29," prov ded with arectangularly-bent portion; forming asweep or blade 30, extending across the transverse planes of the segments and adapted to engage the arms 11 thereof to move them into position to be engaged by the hooks 27. For this purpose arm 29 has a' handle 31 projecting outwardly through a concentric slot 32 in the front head-wall 33.

The back wall 34 has lugs or ears 35 to receive a pm 36 for pivotal connection with a lever 37 through slot 37" of the latter. This lever is fulcrumed at 38 to an upright support 39 of the frame and is connected by a link 39 and pivots 4Q 41 to another lever 42, which is ful- .crumed in a support 43 and extends forwardly beneath the machine-head. 44 is a down pressure of the type-disks when print- An extensible spring, such as 47, is secured by its ends to the frame-bed and the vibrat ing-lever system to the rear of their fulcrums for normally elevating the head and likewise the platen. The lengths of arms of said levers are proportioned so that when motion is imparted the head will travel throu h greater space than does the platen, and t us when the fabric to be marked is pressed down upon the platen it forces the same to descend therewith against the action of spring 47, and

through the medium of the connecting-levers the head also, which overtakes the platen, so to speak, and prints the set type characters on the fabric. Suitable inking devices are included in the invention and as illustrated consist of an ink-pad 48, fixedly attached to the head, an inking-roller 49, carried by swinging arms 50, hinged in and movable with the head, and the means to cause the roller to travel from and across the lowermost circumferential edges of the disks to ink the set type during the last part of the upward movement of the head and ma reverse direction during the first part of the heads downward travel. This reciprocating movement of the ink-roller may be accomplished by a rigid bent rod 51, fixedly secured to some stationary part of the frame, such as one of the posts 4, and which passes through a slot 52 of an offset provided on one of arms 50, so formed and arranged to impart the required movement both as to directions and intervals of time.

The manipulation of the apparatus in setting the desired type of the marking mechanism is as follows: The arms ofthe segmental gears are first moved to the extreme left hand by and with the swinging sweep-arm 29 in that direction, where they are caught and held by the spring-hooks there situated. The sweeping arm can then be moved back to its former position at the right, so as not to obstruct the free play of the arms 11. The keys corresponding to the desired characters are now pressed in, one-for each series or segment, and as they severally enga e with their respective are members they displace the same and, as aforementioned, release the dependent arm 11. These arms being released are caused throu h action of springs to move toward the rig t until intercepted by the end of the pushed-in keys and which after being thus contacted are released of fin erressure bythe operator. The hooked en s 0 these keys when finger-pressure is removed are caught by the hooks of the arms 1 1 and in consequence are prevented from being moved outwardly by their respective springs to their distended positions and at the same time lock the arms, and thereby the type-disks. Thus the required characters are reliably held in position for printin and any number of articles may be marke with the set characters by ressing them separately down upon the p aten. The type are disposed on their disks so that when the segment-arms are moved to the left the characters will be revolved across their printing or lowermost positions until when the coactin arms have reached the extent of their trave a peripheral space without type will be exposed. To change or var the type, the disks are first moved into thls rotary position by sweeping with the arm 29 the segmentarms out of engagementwith the key-hooks around and into engagement with the springhooksready to be reset, as above explained.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with movable marking mechanism, of a platen, means forsimultaneously moving the platen and marking mechtion but at a slower rate of speed and coop erating therewith against the action of a retracting-spring tending to separate them.

3. In an apparatus of the class described,

I platen is mounted, a pivoted lever connected to the marking mechanism and adapted to move the same, and connections between said two levers, the said levers being so constructed and .fulcrumed that the movement of theplaten will impart movement in the same direction but at a greater rate of speed to the marking mechanism.

4. In apparatus of the class describe d,-the

' combination with rotatable disks provided with peripheral type,

' moving, said type individually and predeterminately into printing positions, and a platen, of mechanical-connections and the platen whereby a downward movement of the platenwill impart an accelerated printing movement in the same direction to the disks.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the

means for revolubly' between the disks combination of tgpedisks rotatably mounted in a movable ead, a toothed ,wheel integral with each disk, a segmental gear severally rovided with an arm for each toothed wheel, an arc member for each said arm and carrying hook devices forv engaging and retainin the'respective'arms against the ac tion 0 springs, said springs, a series of keys for each disk, said keys being provided with means coacting with the arc members for disengaging the respective said arms from said hook devices, saidvarms also being adapted when depressed to limit the setting movement.

of and engage the arms whereby the type corresponding with a depressed key will be stopped in its revolution and retained in printing position, and means for disengaging the arms from the engaged keys.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN D. CALDWELL.

, NELS A. SORENSON.

Witnesses: PIERRE BARNES, M. E. BREWER. 

